Still filling seats after its chart topping theatrical debut one week prior, "Taken 2" continued to reign at the box office while emerging as the top earner over the weekend of October 12-14, 2012.

The Olivier Megaton directed crime drama starring Liam Neeson as a retired CIA operative raked in $7.0 million on Friday and another $9.8 million on Saturday with an expected sophomore weekend total of $22.7 million being enough to top all other theatrical competitors.

Falling just short of first, the Ben Affleck starring/directed thriller "Argo" settled for runner-up status, as the just-released motion picture about Tony Mendez's account of the rescue of six U.S. diplomats during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis had higher-than-expected sales of $7.5 million on Friday and $8.9 million on Saturday with a $20.1 million projected opening weekend.

Filling out the top five at the box office in earmarked earnings are the Ethan Hawke starring supernatural horror/thriller "Sinister" ($18.8 million) in third, followed by Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez's animated family comedy "Hotel Transylvania" ($17 million) in fourth while Salma Hayek and Kevin James' underperforming comic caper "Here Comes the Boom" ($12 million) wound up in fifth.